Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter melts, then continue cooking, swirling the pan often and stirring with a whisk, until the butter foams, turns golden brown, and smells nutty. This process takes about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Weigh out 110g of the brown butter into a medium bowl and let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes so it does not scramble the eggs.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl with the brown butter and mix to combine.
- Add the egg and whisk well for 1 to 2 minutes, or use an electric mixer, until the mixture lightens in color and thickens.
- Add the vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a rubber spatula until some flour streaks remain. This prevents overworking the dough.
- Add the chopped chocolate and mix to incorporate using a rubber spatula.
- Scoop 6 cookies (about 55g per dough ball) using a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop onto the prepared baking sheet. If you prefer, flatten each dough ball, press more chocolate pieces on top, and roll it back into a ball. Arrange the balls evenly apart on the pan. Keep the remaining batter lightly covered with plastic wrap.
- Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are set. Bake longer if you want crispier cookies. Remove the pan from the oven and briefly bang it on the counter to help deflate the cookies. If you want perfectly round cookies, use a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to shape them.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with flaky sea salt. Allow them to cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat the baking process with the rest of the batter. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
When browning butter, you start with 150g of cold butter. After cooking off the water, you re-measure and use 110g of the resulting brown butter. This accounts for moisture loss during the browning process. If you use European-style butter, which is higher in fat, you may have a higher yield of brown butter.